This wedding has been delayed many times by Covid, so everyone was just thrilled to finally come out and celebrate with this beautiful couple!  

I can't express how much I enjoyed this day!  Lots of lovely friends and family, a stunning summer day, a beautiful venue, a beautiful bride and handsome groom, what more could we ask for!  We even did a "first look" which was such a treat to photograph!  

I can't praise the team at Mulberry House enough, they treated me and my fellow hard working suppliers like royalty, keeping us fed and watered throughout the day with delicious food and treats, and absolutely top notch hospitality.  I got to work with a wonderful team of videographers too, which is such a treat.  

Here's a very quick sneak peak of Laura and Sam's beautiful Mulberry House Hotel Wedding, there were so many lovely photos to choose from it was impossible to choose!  

Photographer: Leah van Zyl Photography

Video: TVP Weddings

Make up Carla Oram Makeup

Dress: Amorae Bridal

Venue: Mulberry House Hotel

Joe is an incredibly talented musician, and plays for a Beatles tribute band as Paul McCartney.  Lindsay and Joe actually met at one of his gigs, and he proposed on Abbey Road on the 50th Anniversary of the iconic album cover in front of hundreds of Beatles fans and the press!  

Read more about that and see photos here: Joe and Lindsay get engaged on Abbey Road!

A highlight for me was slipping off after the ceremony with the happy couple in their vintage pink Cadillac, to visit Lindsay's 99 year old grandmother who wasn't able to come to the wedding.  It was a truly special moment that I felt privileged to capture.  

The wedding had a fabulous 60s vibe, and the treat of the night was Joe and his band taking to the stage to serenade us with perfectly harmonised Beatles hits.  It was the first time that most of us had heard live music in a very long time, and it was an absolute treat for everyone involved, me included!  

This wedding had been long delayed by Covid, so it was a truly special day.  Here's a few sneak peaks, lots and lots to come!  

Photographer: Leah van Zyl Photography

Venue: The Old Finsbury Town Hall

Dress: Cutting Edge Brides

Yummy Pies: Pieminister

Catering: Mesa Catering 

Although we couldn't be there to stand with you in person, today we stood with you in London.  Last week,  Whatsapp groups were formed, plans were made, re-made, re-shuffled, and re-shuffled again.  We planned and organised while watching all of your videos and voice notes detailing your plight.  We called our families, we made facebook groups.  We started fund raising, we invited friends and loved ones to get involved and donate. 

Huge thanks and respect to Hayley Reichert and her team for all of your hard work in planning this day.  We sang the national anthem (twice!) we spoke about our hopes and fears for the country. We held a minute of silence, keeping our much loved home and families in our thoughts. 

Today we felt like we could help, we felt connected to each other and to our beautiful, much loved country.  

I had the absolute pleasure of photographing Bonnie and Liam's wonderful Woodland Wedding a few days ago.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day from start to finish, especially as it included little Stone's Christening as part of the service!  

The reception was fabulously festooned with beautiful, quirky touches, which made the whole day completely unique.  The food was utterly scrumptious, and there was so much wonderful entertainment, it was hard to know what to go and check out first!  There was face painting, children's entertainers, a steel drum musician, a bubble blower, a magician, and so much more!!  It is not often that I get to work with so many fantastic wedding suppliers, what a dream team!  

Thank you Liam and Bonnie and your lovely families for letting me be a part of your special day, here's a sneak peak.  Many more to come!  

Suppliers:  

Photography Leah van Zyl Photography

Videography Videography by Frankie

Venue and Flowers Flowers Make Scents

Igloo Hire A Room with a View

Food The Naked Sausage

Food Delicacy Cafe

Prop Hire: Anthology Vintage Hire

Prop Hire: Locate to Create

Prop Hire: Aldresco Hire

Softplay Hire: Posh Totz Softplay

Hair: Hair by Brandon

Make up: Amy G Make Up

Marquee:  American Marquee

Face Painter: The Fairy Tale Face Painter

There were SO many happy tears shed on this wonderful day (mostly by me I think, I'm such a crier!!)  Kim and Sallie are SO in love, and I was so happy to be there to capture their beautiful wedding.. third time lucky (Thanks Covid!) 

Here's just a small sneak peak of their lovely day, more to come! 

What an absolute joy and privilege it was to photograph Ollie and Dan's luscious wedding at Canonteigan Falls this week end!  

The rain relented for the day, which meant that we could fully appreciate this gorgeous location.  The grooms were devastatingly handsome, the barn was styled to perfection, the falls looked magnificent, it was an utterly dream wedding to be a part of!  The staff at Canonteigan Falls made sure that the hall was perfect and that we were all well cared for, fed and watered.  I can't recommend the team highly enough.  

Here's just a small sneak peak of Ollie and Dan's wonderful wedding at Canonteigan Falls, it is one I'm going to remember forever!  

Venue: https://www.canonteignfalls.co.uk/

Videography: https://www.instagram.com/frankiethevideographer/

Photography: www.leahvanzyl.com 

It was so incredible to be able to get out and about in the crisp spring air after over a year of being locked inside.   We visited some of my favourite locations the city such as St Pauls, the Tate Modern, The Millennium Bridge and more! 

Here's a little sneak peak of their London engagement photos!  

My new site is still under construction, but I've put together my 2021 pricing here.  

I cannot wait to start capturing weddings again, laughing and crying with brides grooms and families and getting my creative juices flowing again.  

See you soon!  

I'm in the process of reworking my website, but in the meantime here's my 2021 Newborn Photography Pricing.  

I'm so excited to get back to work in April and photograph lots of lovely babies and Mamas to be!  

To launch my studio back into life again, I'm going to be offering a completely complimentary maternity session to everyone who books a newborn session in March.  

Thank you and see you soon!  

It has been a truly awful time for all of us, struggling to cope in this strange, terrible time.  A little bit of lightness, my first wedding for months and months, brought some much needed love and happiness in this very dark time.  

Sophie and Dean married at Holy Innocents at High Beech on the week-end, and it was truly beautiful.  Sophie asked to capture candid moments in Black and white, masks and hand sanitiser included!  I loved every moment of being able to capture a wedding again, and getting creative using just black and white, which really pushed me out of my comfort Zone!  

Here's a little sneak peak of their gorgeous ceremony.  

Kenwood House, on the edge of London’s Hampstead Heath, was probably first built in the early 17th century. Between 1764 and 1779 Robert Adam transformed it into a neoclassical villa for William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, and the interiors include some of Adam’s finest surviving schemes. Kenwood is now home to the 1st Earl of Iveagh’s renowned collection of Old Master and British paintings, which includes works by Rembrandt and Vermeer.  I am such an art lover, being able to work in the presence of the masters is an absolute honor.  

Of course, along with this perfect venue came the perfect couple!  Doug and Mariya are gorgeous, so stylish and so in love!!  I loved speaking Afrikaans to Doug's beautiful and glamorous mother Shannon in the morning while we were getting ready, I felt like we had a little touch of our home land South Africa with us through the day.  Shannon even hand created her own beautiful dress! 

Mariya's dress was breathtaking, and the shoes were something to behold! Absolutely exquisite Jimmy Choo shoes layered from toe to heel in luxurious Swarovski crystal.. I was so nervous even holding them, they were a work of art!

After the beautiful ceremony, accompanied by an incredible string quartet, we had Kenwood House all to ourselves for a private tour and some photographs.  

The reception was held at the exclusive private members club The Arts Club in Mayfair for an intimate dinner, a perfect venue to end a perfect day. 

Thank you Doug and Mariya for letting me be a part of your wonderful wedding day, I loved every moment of it!  You two have something really special and I wish you all of the happiness and love in your married life together!  

Here's your sneak peak.  

Enjoy! 

Wedding Venue: Kenwood House

Reception Venue: The Arts Club

Photographer: Leah van Zyl Photography

Bridal Stylist: Elle Au Natural

Shoes: Jimmy Choo

These two are absolutely made for each other, they positively sparkle when they are together, its a joy to witness!  I have so many beautiful pictures from their wonderful wedding.. it was so hard to pick their sneak peak!  This lovely couple adores black and white images, so I have popped in a a few of my black and white favourites.  

Enjoy!

We all had such fun on their fabulous London Route Master, which they hired for the day.  The weather was incredible, the spring sunshine streamed in as we took in all the sights of London as we made our way to the beautiful Islington Town Hall.  This is without a doubt my fave registry office in London!  It has the most gorgeous sweeping staircase, high ceilings, and gorgeous architecture, so it creates the perfect backdrop for a wedding day!  

After their beautiful intimate ceremony, we all hopped back on the bus and made our way to the equally wonderful Savage Garden, which is a fabulous London Restaurant with Rooftop Bar.  Adnan and Anela had hired an exclusive part of the venue all for themselves and their guests, where they enjoyed cocktails and delicious canapes as the sun went down, overlooking the fabulous London cityscape.  

This was an absolutely fabulous wedding, with so much love, happy tears, and fun, I just loved being a part of it. 

Here's some of my favourite images of their day!  

Wedding Venue: Islington Town Hall

Reception Venue: Savage Garden

Photographer: Leah van Zyl Photographer

Part of what keeps me going, is finding the time to do styled shoots, because it allows me to be creative and shoot exactly how I want, and just for me!  

Here's a few images from the shoot I did in Epping Forest in Autumn last year.  I invited a couple of my most fabulous red haired buddies, as well as some gorgeous kids, to come and play in the forest.  I used my fabulous and incredibly portable Godox lighting system and Magmod gels to shape the light and get a touch of those gorgeous red tones in their hair.  

This place is an absolute hidden gem, right on the door step of Camps Bay, stones throw from the beach, nestling in the shade of Table Mountain.  The staff are incredible, they couldn't do enough for us!  Our room overlooked the beautiful ocean, probably the most breathtaking view I've ever had.  Watching the sun set over the Sea with a chilled glass of wine on our balcony was something truly special.

On our last morning, I had a peak of some of the other rooms in the hotel, which are mostly adorned with my Dad's beautiful paintings! My Dad, Ian van Zyl is a fabulous wild life artist, and an absolute favourite of this gorgeous hotel... they clearly have great taste!  

Here are a few very quick snaps of Ian van Zyl's paintings in this beautiful hotel.  If you are travelling to Cape Town in the future, please do check it out! 

Hotel: Ocean View House

Artist: Ian van Zyl Wildlife Artist

I went home for a month over Christmas, probably my longest holiday since starting a full time job in my early 20s.  My son, who's just started GCSE photography (I'm so proud!) inspired me to take some photos for myself this year, and I took the opportunity to snap some while on holiday.  I'm incredibly lucky to have a brilliantly talented artist and fellow animal lover father, who took Jack and I away to Hluhluwe and Umfolozi Game Reserve in Kwa Zulu Natal.  Watching my son Jack take photos and experience beautiful animals in the wild was so wonderful!  The silence of the veld was only broken by the occasional elephant trumpeting, lion roaring, and Jack and I arguing over who got the long lens.  

I so rarely create black and white images, especially in the vibrant bushveld, so I decided it was time to do something different.  Here are some of my favourites, let me know what you think!

Photo by Jack at the back of Bakkie! 

 

Who got engaged over the festive period?  I absolutely love engagement shoots, as it helps me get to know my lovely clients, and get creative without the time pressures of the wedding day.  We discuss and practise posing, so that the couple shoot part of their wedding goes quickly and effortlessly... so that they can do what is important, having fun with their guests!  

Get in touch if you got engaged over Christmas, and want some awesome, creative engagement and wedding photography that stands out from the crowd.  

I've just returned from the most fabulous month back home in South Africa, and first thing on my 2019 agenda was to post a sneak peak from Steve and Lisa's gorgeous winter wedding at Great Hallingbury Manor.  

Wonderful venue, gorgeous couple and an amazing group of wedding suppliers, it was a dream day!  

Here's some of my faves from their beautiful wedding, enjoy!

Venue: Great Hallingbury Manor

Photographer: Leah van Zyl Photography

Make up: Kirsty Dobson @Bespoke Occasions https://www.bespoke-occasions.co.uk/

Cake: Karen’s Cakes https://www.karenscakes.co.uk/

Dress: Fleur de Leys Bridal https://www.fleurdelysbridal.co.uk/

They got married in a beautiful little church, nestled in High Beech, and we managed to squeeze in a few shots before it started tipping it down with rain!  

The best part about the whole day, was that the reception was held at their very own restaurant The Farmhouse.  These two love birds met while they both worked at Jamie's Italian, and finally achieved their dream of opening their very own restaurant.  I adore this place... every little detail looks beautiful and it was the perfect setting for their day.  The food was incredible, the staff were fantastic, and I couldn't recommend this lovely place highly enough.  

Here's just a very quick sneak peak of your amazing day... so much more to come!  

Make up: Sophie Matthews

Venue: The Farmhouse

Dress: The Wedding Trousseau

Flowers: Petal and Wild 

Hair: Charleigh Jane

Photos: Leah van Zyl Photography

We then popped over to the newly renovated The Sir John Balcombe.  This is a gorgeous, cosy pub, which made the perfect backdrop to the lively, fun reception.  The downstairs area was such a bonus, we had an impromptu little couple shoot down there, despite the drizzle outside! 

Here is a super quick sneak peak of their amazing day, many more to come!  

Venue: The Old Marylebone Town Hall

Reception venue: The Sir John Balcome

Photographer: Leah van Zyl Photography

I have SO MANY faves from this wedding... but here's just a little taster of their gorgeous wedding day.  

CONGRATS Jordana and Scott, I can't wait to share the rest with you!

Alex and Darren got married at Mulberry House this summer, and it was amazing!!  It was one of the hottest days of the year, but Alex managed to look cool and gorgeous all day.. I don't know how she does it!  

Mulberry House is one of my favourite local venues.  They laid out extra huge fans in the marquee to make sure the guests stayed cool and comfortable all day.  The food was delicious, the decor was gorgeous, and the lake and bridge makes the perfect backdrop...an absolute photographer's dream.  The 

This wedding was such a lot of fun!  Lots of happy tears and dancing and lots of fans to keep us cool.. everyone had a brilliant time.  

Congratulations Alex and Darren, wishing you much more love and laughter in the future!

Here's your sneak peak... enjoy!

Venue: Mulberry House

They had styled their marquee to the max, with gorgeous attention to detail.  The bride arrived at the church in a vintage pink VW, which perfectly blended with the bridesmaid dresses and gorgeous summer flowers.   Amanda looked incredible, Nathan looked handsome, and it was an absolutely awesome day!!  

It was SO hard choosing my favourites, but here's just a few.  Congratulations Nathan and Amanda, wishing you love and laughter in your married lives together!  

Venice was absolutely incredible.  Busy, colourful, with friendly people, lots of pasta, lots of wine and lots of mosquitos!  Venice is full of beauty, culture, and breathtaking architecture.  My favourite spot of all was the gorgeous Bueno, a tiny island just off the mainland of Venice.  All of the houses are brightly coloured, as they used to belong to fishermen who's wives painted them eye catching colours so that they could spot them after returning from months at sea.  Venice is the perfect wedding destination!

I learnt lots of new skills, and chased the light around Venice with a bunch of the most awesome, friendly photographers.  I can't recommend Scott enough, what an incredibly talented, patient man.  

As its still wedding season, I have not edited many from my trip as yet, but here's a little preview!

A special thank you to Abbots Travel, who booked me the most gorgeous little hotel just off the main square in Venice!  What amazing service, for a totally unexpected price.  I'll be booking all of my business travel with them going forward!  

Abbotts Travel: Abbotts Travel

Here's my latest blog post, featuring the wedding of the sweetest couple, Luke and Sally, along side their little boy Orlando and their cute little dog!  I smiled so much editing these photos.  I thoroughly enjoyed photographing at That Amazing Place for the first time, what a fabulous venue!  The food, the views, and the house itself were perfect.  

Here's some of my faves from Luke and Sally's big day.  Huge congratulations you two!! 

Venue That Amazing Place

Here's just a few of my favourites from Hannah and Lyall’s big day, wishing them lots and lots of love and happiness in their married lives together.  

Enjoy! 

The drizzly cold weather did nothing to quell the love, laughter and fun at all.  There were lots of happy tears shed throughout the day!  Here's a sneak peak of Francesca and Steve's day.  I wish you much love in the the future, and congratulations on your gorgeous new little bundle, coming soon!